System and method for home automation and security

ABSTRACT

A home automation and security system is provided in which a home automation and security controller in a customer premises is coupled with a remotely located central control facility using a continuous connectivity access line providing a data channel separate from a voice channel. The controller at the customer premises is responsible for monitoring and applying control signals to devices in the home and for supporting a human interface. The remotely located central control facility is responsible for providing the computational and database resources to the controller. By redistributing functionality, the network-based structure of this home automation and security system can overcome the disadvantages of conventional home automation and security systems.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to telecommunication servicesand more specifically to a new system and method for home automation andsecurity.

BACKGROUND

Home automation and security systems currently are controlled byequipment installed at a customer premises. By programming an in-housedevice, a user controls the operation of appliances connected to thesystem. For example, a user can program an in-house device to turn on alight at a specific time. The in-house device also can monitor sensorslocated throughout the house and can sound an alarm or phone amonitoring agency when the sensors are triggered. Some systems offer aremote-access feature allowing a user to access the in-house devicethrough the public switched telephone system.

There are several disadvantages associated with conventional homeautomation and security systems. First, most systems use relativelysimple user interfaces that limit the user's control over the system. Toprovide a more elaborate and friendly user interface, some systemsincorporate, or provide a connection to, a device comparable to apersonal computer. While these systems provide the user with better homeautomation and security functionality, their high cost limits theirwide-spread use. Additionally, changing built-in control programstypically requires a change to the in-house equipment itself Further,using the remote-access feature of the conventional systems interfereswith normal use of the home telephone.

There is, therefore, a need for a new system and method for homeautomation and security that will overcome the disadvantages describedabove.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a station set of a preferred embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a home automation and security system of apreferred embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a home automation and security system of apreferred embodiment that uses data-over-voice modems.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a home automation method of a preferredembodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a home security method of a preferredembodiment.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a dedicated user interface device of apreferred embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a home automation and security system of apreferred embodiment that uses a digital subscriber line.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Now turning to the drawings, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a homeautomation and security system 200 of a preferred embodiment. As shownin FIG. 2, a home automation and security controller 210 in a customerpremises 220 is coupled with a remotely-located central control facility230 using a continuous connectivity access line 240. In one preferredembodiment, the continuous connectivity access line is supported bydata-over-voice (DOV) modems, while in another preferred embodiment theaccess line is supported by a Digital Subscriber Line (xDSL). In bothembodiments, the access line 240 has a data channel separate from avoice channel. Unlike conventional systems, the home automation andsecurity controller 210 at the customer premises 220 is responsible formonitoring and applying control signals to devices in the home and forsupporting a human interface, while the computational and databaseresources of the system 200 are provided to the controller 210 (andcontrollers of other customer premises) by the remotely-located centralcontrol facility 230.

With such redistributed functionality, the network-based structure ofthis home automation and security system overcomes the disadvantages ofconventional home automation and security systems. First, the systemdescribed below offers a more intensive computational facility ascompared to current systems. Because the computational resources arecentralized, updating or replacing control software does not requirechanges to customer premises equipment. Further, the system has accessto external databases, allowing more powerful and versatile forms ofhome automation and security. Second, this system offers a moresophisticated user interface (such as an elaborate graphical orspeech-based user interface) without requiring the use of a personalcomputer or comparably powerful and expensive dedicated processor at thecustomer premises. Third, unlike the remote access feature of aconventional system which typically requires input of touch-tone signalswith only tones as prompts, the remote access feature of these preferredembodiments supports user-friendly Interactive Voice Response units andallows users to access their home system using a personal computer.Additionally, because the access line has a data channel separate fromthe voice channel, the remote access feature of these preferredembodiments does not interfere with normal use of the home telephone.

Referring again to the drawings, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a homeautomation and security system 300 of a preferred embodiment in whichthe continuous connectivity access line is supported by data-over-voice(DOV) modems. FIG. 3 shows equipment at a customer premises 305 andequipment remotely located from the customer premises 305. The customerpremises 305 comprises a home automation and security controller 310, atelephone 315, and a user-interface controller 317, all of which arecoupled with a first data-over-voice modem 320. As used herein, the term“coupled with” means directly coupled with or indirectly coupled withthrough one or more components. The first data-over-voice modem 320simultaneously transports voice and data traffic (nominally 56 Kbps)through a twisted-pair local loop. The controller 310 comprises sensors325 and alerting devices 327 to perform home security functions anddevice control means 330 to control the operation of devices coupledwith the controller 3110 in the customer premises 305. Device controlmeans 330 are well known in the art and can comprise any convenienttransport medium, such as but not limited to twisted pairs, in-homeelectrical wiring, power lines, or a free-field electromagnetic oroptical connection. For example, to control a VCR, the device controlmeans 330 can comprise an infra-red emitter to communicate with aninfra-red receiver used for the VCR remote control. The transportprotocol can be RS-232, RS-485, X-10, LonWorks, CEBus, or any othertransport protocol that meets the cost, bandwidth, and reliabilityrequirements for a particular installation.

Remotely located from the customer premises 305 is a seconddata-over-voice modem 335, which is coupled to a central office 340 witha POTS line 343 and a gateway 345 (preferably with a T1 line). Thesecond data-over-voice modem 335 separates the data and voice trafficand sends the signals to the gateway 345 and a line card in the centraloffice 340, respectively. The central office 340 is coupled to thepublic switched telephone network (“PSTN”) 395. The gateway 345 iscoupled with a home automation and security server 350, which comprisesa home automation and security application 355, through a data network360. The data network 360 (which can be SONET with ATM or any othercomparable network technology) can comprise any number of computer datanetwork devices or can be a single connection directly coupling thegateway 345 with the server 350. The data network 360 also can couple aspeech processing server 390 and an Internet service provider 385coupled with the Internet 375.

Unlike conventional systems, the controller 310 at the customer premises305 is responsible for monitoring and applying control signals todevices in the home and for supporting a human interface, while thecomputational and database resources of the system 300 are provided tothe controller 310 (and controllers of other customer premises) by theapplication 355. It is important to note that controller 310—server 350communication does not involve the POTS line or the public switchedtelephone network 395. As described below, even communication with auser in the customer premises 305, whether via dialed digits or a spokencommands, is sent as packets over the data channel.

The system 300 of FIG. 3 can be used in a home automation method, asillustrated in the flow chart of FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, this methodcomprises the steps of sending a command to the home automationcontroller 310 from the home automation application 355 to control anoperation of a load coupled with the home automation controller 310(step 410) and then using the home automation controller 310 to controlthe operation of the load in response to the command from theapplication 355 (step 420). For example, the application 355 can beprogrammed to turn on lights in the customer premises 305 at a specifictime using the device control means 330. At the appropriate time, theapplication 355 contacts the controller 310 via the access channel 333and commands the controller 310 to use the device control means 330 toturn on the lights.

Additionally, the system 300 of FIG. 3 can be used in a home securitymethod, as illustrated in the flow chart of FIG. 5. This methodcomprises the steps of sending a signal from the home securitycontroller 310 to the home security application 355 to indicate that asensor 325 has been triggered (step 510) and using the home securityapplication 355 to activate an alarm in response to the signal (step520). For example, if the sensor 325 detects that a window has beenopened in the customer premises, the controller 310 would generate amessage describing the event and send the message to the application355. The application 355 can automatically activate an alarm, or it canfirst determine whether the alarm should be activated. For example, theapplication 355 can be programmed to activate an alarm only if it hasbeen informed that the customer premises 305 has no legitimateoccupants. The alarm activation can be a triggering of an alertingdevice 327 in the customer premises 305 (e.g., sounding an alarm,turning on lights, etc.). As part of the alarm activation, theapplication 355 also can send a message to a monitoring bureau via thecentral office 340 and the PSTN 395. The methods of both FIGS. 4 and 5can be implemented with a computer usable medium having computerreadable program code means embodied therein.

As mentioned above, the system 300 of FIG. 3 provides more intensivecomputational and database resources and a more sophisticated userinterface as compared to conventional systems. Additionally, thecontinuous connectivity access line 333 allows this system 300 toprovide services that are not available with conventional systems. Eachof these feature will be described in more detail below.

Computational and Database Resources

With conventional systems, in-house devices have limited computationalcapabilities due to size and cost constraints. In contrast to in-housedevices, the server 350 and application 355 of this preferred embodimentoffer greater computational and database resources. Additionally,because the application 355 is centralized and is not part of thecontroller 310, a user is not limited to applications built into thecontroller 310 and can use applications from third-party vendors thatmay be better tailored to his needs. Unlike current systems, changingapplications does not require change to customer premises equipment.Because the application 355 is centralized, these benefits can be sharedby many users.

Because the computational resources of the centralized applicationserver 350 are much larger than those of conventional in-house devices,the home security and automation application 355 can be written to takemore intelligent action. For example, suppose that the application 355is in an armed state and a window is opened at the time of day thatchildren normally return home from school. Rather than immediatelyraising an alarm, the application 355 can use a speaker in the customerpremises 305 to prompt the possible intruder/possible child-without-keyto enter a security pass code. The application 355 also can have accessto a much more complete database of information about home usage. Forexample, the application 355 can know that a cleaning service enters thehome every Thursday at I p,.m. If someone unlocks a door and enters atthat time but does not enter a pass code, the application 355 would notnecessary raise an alarm. The application 355, for example, can call thehouse and, using an interactive voice response system, prompt theservice company personnel to enter his pass code over the telephone 315.

As another example, if other residences were equipped with the homeautomation and security system 300 of FIG. 3, children can be asked toenter a unique identifier into the security system at their friend'shouse if they went there rather than to their own house after school.Alternatively, if the child were wearing a transponder, their presencewould automatically be announced to the automation system of anybuilding they entered. The automation and security system at theirfriend's house can then send a message to the child's home application355 (via the data network 360 or the PSTN 395), which then can recordthe child's location and report on it if requested to do so. Knowing thechild is in another location, the application 355 can immediatelyactivate an alerting device 327 once a sensor is activated 325 insteadof assuming that the cause for the activation is the child returninghome from school.

In another application, the application 355 can send messages to thecontroller 310 to turn on certain devices and activate certain alertingdevices 327 in response to receiving an alert (e.g., civil defensewarnings and severe weather alerts) from an information source coupledto the data network 360 or the PSTN 395. For example, if the controller310 receives a “take cover” warning from a weather source because atornado has been spotted in the vicinity, the controller 310 can turn onall the lights in the house, sound a siren, and broadcast an appropriatespoken message over the home public address system. Additionally, theapplication 355 can monitor a news channel and announce events in thenews that are thought to be of pressing interest to the occupants. Forexample, a home owner can be told of train or traffic delays, and afamily can be told of weather-related school closings.

As described above, the data network 360 can be coupled with largerdatabases than are available to the conventional home automation andsecurity systems. With access to a larger database, a user has morecontrol over, for example, VCR programming. The application 355 canmonitor and track changes in the scheduled time of a program toautomatically adjust the VCR programming to ensure that a desiredprogram is recorded. Additionally, the application 355 can provide theuser with a better interface through which to program the VCR. Withconventional systems, program schedules are sent to a cable box or aspecially-equipped television set for display to the user. The usernavigates through a typically grid-like display on the television setand selects programs for recording. Because of memory limitations inset-top boxes or the circuitry of specially-equipped television sets,users typically have access to only a few days of program listings, andthe listings include only terse descriptions of the programs. Incontrast, the application 355 of this preferred embodiment can haveaccess (via the data network 360) to information about many weeks ofprogramming and detailed information about each program.

User Interface

Because the user interface is supported by a centralized server 350, thecost and size of the controller 310 does not limit the user interface,as in conventional systems. Accordingly, the computational resourcesavailable to the application 355 of this preferred embodiment canprovide a more sophisticated user interface as compared to conventionalsystems. The system 300 of this preferred embodiment can communicatewith a user via an interactive voice session, and because the server 350can be a larger and more versatile machine than a conventional in-houseunit, the dialog can be vastly easier for the user. When the application355 is aware that it must communicate with the user over a standardtelephone, it initiates an interactive voice session. An initialgreeting is sent, and the user can respond by either dialing atouch-tone digit or by speaking. Processing of voice commands can bedone by a speech processing server 390 coupled with the data network360. Using readily-available current technology, the speech processingserver 390 can perform speaker-independent recognition or speakerverification.

In the course of the user's interaction with the home automation andsecurity system 300, the user may inquire about the status of devices inthe home, issue commands to change device status, or may change the wayin which the application 355 responds to reported events. The user'sdialog with the application 355 can result in messages being sent to thecontroller 310. For example, the user can call from a bedside phone toinstruct the application 355 to enter a “night mode.” The application355 then can send a message to the controller 310 instructing it to turnoff all lights under its control. A user instruction to enter night modealso can configure the application 355 to immediately respond to reportsfrom in-home sensors 325 that a door or window was opened or that amotion detector was tripped. The nature of a response to an unexpectedsensor event can be whatever the user deems appropriate. The application355 can place a telephone call to the house, turn on house lighting,sound an alarm in the house, or place a call to a monitoring bureau. Asdescribed above, the service logic that determines what should be donewhen an event is detected in the home is in the application server 350.The controller 310 is responsible only for reporting events and sendingcontrol signals to devices when instructed to do so.

A user can access the server 350 from within his home using thetelephone 315 (e.g., a standard telephone station set 100 shown in FIG.1). The user-interface controller 317 coupled with the telephone 315 canmonitor the signals from the telephone 315 to determine whether the useris attempting to access the server 350 or is attempting to place atelephone call. When the telephone 315 goes off-hook, the user-interfacecontroller 317 supplies dial tone without passing the on-hook signal tothe central office 340. In response to the user dialing anything otherthan a specified series of keys (such as “**”), the user-interfacecontroller 317 establishes a connection and passes the dialed digits tothe central office 340. If the user dials the specified series of keys(such as “**”), the telephone 315 connects to the home automation andsecurity server 350 without an off-hook signal being sent to the centraloffice 340. A message requesting initiation of a home automation andsecurity system dialog is sent from the first 320 to the second 335data-over-voice modem via the data channel of the access line 333 andfinally to the gateway 345. The gateway 345 then sends an appropriatemessage to the server 350, which establishes a connection between thehome automation and security controller 310 and the home automation andsecurity application 355 running in the server 350.

In another embodiment, a user can access the application 355 with hishome computer 313. As shown in FIG. 3, the computer 313 can be connectedto the first data-over-voice modem 320 with a multiplexer 314 that alsois coupled with the controller 310. The application 355 can provide thecomputer 313 with a highly graphical interface in the form of a “Webpage.” As described above, the application 355 communicates with thecomputer 313 using a data channel separate from the voice channel.Consequently, it is possible for someone on the premises to use thetelephone 315 at the same that the application 355 is exchangingmessages with the computer 313.

In yet another embodiment, a dedicated user interface device 600 (FIG.6) can be coupled with the controller 310 to access the application 355.The dedicated user interface device 600 comprises a display 610,preferably an LCD with eight lines, each with forty text characters perline. The display 610 also preferably comprises built-in graphical cells(i.e., icons). User input devices can include a keypad 615 (arranged,for example, as a touch-tone pad) and function keys 620, some of whichcan be located at each side of the display 610 and labeled by displayingappropriate icons or text strings. The dedicated user interface device600 also can include a speaker 630 and a microphone 640 to supportspeech prompts and spoken user commands.

While the dedicated user interface device 600 and the controller 310comprise some processing capability, the application 355 in the server350 is in complete control of the user interface device 600. Theapplication 355 determines what the user will see on the display 610 andhear over the speaker 630. The application 355 interprets all userinputs, button presses, touch-screen contacts and spoken commands. Theapplication 355 can send a complete bit map of the screen or can send acharacter image showing which of a set of characters (e.g., ASCIIcharacters, extended ASCII drawing characters, and pre-determined icons)should be displayed at a particular location on the display 610. Theapplication 355 also can send a more abstract markup languagerepresentation. As is well known in the art, tradeoffs can be madeeither to conserve bandwidth by sending a higher-level representation orto minimize the need for processing capacity in the dedicated userinterface device 600 by sending more literal descriptions of the screen.

The application 355 also can be accessed from a location remote from thecustomer premises 305. When the user is off premises, he can use anordinary touch-tone telephone to call the application 355. A user canplace a telephone call to an access number, which can be routed from thecentral office 340 directly to the server 350 through a T1 line, forexample, or indirectly through the gateway 345. The application 355 cancommunicate with the user via tone or speech prompts, and user responsescan be either dialed touch-tone digits or spoken words. When a telephoneis used to remotely access the application 355, a talking path can beestablished between the remote user and either a specialized voice I/Odevice in the customer premises 305 (e.g., a loudspeaker and microphone)or the regular home telephone 315. Speech to and from the home can berouted through the data channel of the access line 333 without using anormal telephone connection into the home. In this way, the remote usercan talk to someone in the home, and the other home telephones still canbe used for normal telephone calls. Additionally, a remote user can usethe data channel to monitor activity in the house by receiving signalssent from the microphone of the specialized voice I/O device.

The user also can use a personal computer to remotely access theapplication. The computer can be coupled to the server 350 over theInternet 375 (or a private data network) or over a dial-up connectionthrough the PSTN 395. In one embodiment, the server 350 functions as aWeb server. After entering the server's 350 public home page, the user(after passing through a security check) can go to the page for theirhome automation and security system. This page can be designed toprovide the appropriate status information and controls. In the courseof the user's interaction with the application 355, the user can inquireabout the status of devices in the home, issue commands to change devicestatus, or change the way in which the application 355 manages homedevices or responds to reported events. The application 355 isultimately responsible for controlling all automated systems in thehome. Alternatively, the application 355 can send commands to devices inthe home to pre-program them to respond to local events.

In all of the above embodiments, because the application 355communicates with the controller 310 using a data channel separate fromthe voice channel, someone on the premises 305 can use the telephone 315at the same time that the application 355 is exchanging messages withthe controller 310. The continuous connectivity access line 333 providesthe system with additional advantages, as described below.

The Continuous Connectivity Access Line

The use of a continuous connectivity access line 333 also allows severalservices to be offered that are unavailable with current systems. Forexample, the system 300 of FIG. 3 can be used to send messages toutility companies describing current meter readings. Additionally, ifthe home security system is in “away mode,” the home can be assumed tobe unoccupied, and the thermostat controlling air conditioning can beset to a relatively high level without inconveniencing the home owner.Further, the application 355 can provide estimates to the utilitycompany of how many air conditioning units can be set back and, hence,how much power can be saved.

As another feature, the system 300 can maintain a log of customerpremises' entries and exits. A remote user can be provided with eitherreal-time notification of changes in the security system status (e.g.,the kids are home) or can peruse historical records. Further, cut-lineprotection can be provided at practically no additional cost because theapplication 355 will immediately be alerted if the access line becomesinoperable for any reason. The application 355 also can receiveimmediate notification of loss of residential power and can monitor thestatus of the backup system.

While the embodiments have been described in reference to a continuousconnectivity access line supported by data-over-voice modems, asmentioned above, the access line can also be supported by a digitalsubscriber line. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of some of the components ofa home automation and security system 700 of a preferred embodimentusing an asymmetrical digital subscribed line (ADSL). As shown in FIG.7, the customer premises 705 comprises a premises gateway 720 coupledwith a remotely located digital subscriber line access multiplexer(“DSLAM”) 735 via a twisted pair. The premises gateway 720 combinesvoice traffic from telephones 715 and data traffic from the homeautomation and security controller 710. The premises gateway 720 alsocan combine data traffic from personal computers 713 coupled with anEthernet, for example. The DSLAM 735 separates the traffic and sends thevoice traffic to the central office 740 and the data traffic to thegateway 745. The additional elements shown in FIG. 3 can be added toenable this system 700 to perform all the functions described inreference to the system 300 of FIG. 3.

It is important to note that while the preferred embodiments weredescribed above in terms of a home automation and security system, thesetwo functions can exist independently. For example, while the homeautomation and security controller 310 is shown as one element, a systemcan comprise two controllers—one for home automation and one for homesecurity. Alternatively, a customer premises may only have onecontroller, functioning as either a home automation controller or a homesecurity controller.

It is intended that the foregoing detailed description be understood asan illustration of selected forms that the invention can take and not asa definition of the invention. It is only the following claims,including all equivalents, that are intended to define the scope of thisinvention.

1. A home automation system comprising: a home automation controllerlocated in a customer premises, a home automation server, locatedremotely from the customer premises, comprising a home automationapplication operative to control operation of a load coupled with thehome automation controller; and an access line coupling the homeautomation controller with the home automation server. 2-34. (canceled)